CHAPTER 4
Bhanu opened the 3rd letter:-
"Bulls eye", those were my first words as I hit one of them just under the left shoulder.
The other two guys, jumped towards the nearby bushes to take cover and also to examine where did the bullet come from? However, before they could take cover, the second bullet from my rifle hit one of them in the leg.
"Ahhh..." The man whom I shot was lying near the Corba and maybe counting his last breath. But i didn't want to take a chance so I just remained behind the tree and waited for their next move.
Even before I could prepare a mental sketch of the other guys' locations, two bullets whizzed past me. They knew where I was hiding and started firing towards me. Both of them had AK-47 while I was carrying a rifle and 4 bullets out of which 2 were already gone. Moreover, while taking cover I had dropped my Pistol near the tree, but attempting to pick that pistol would have been a suicide attempt at that moment.
For the next 5 minutes, I remained hidden behind the tree and those two guys kept shooting, I was waiting for them to make mistake. A little movement from my side could have killed me as both of them knew my position but I wasn't sure about theirs. While the third guy remained lying on the ground screaming in pain.
"Ahhh... save me guys." The third guy lying on the ground shouted.
"Boss stay there or he'll know..." that distraction was enough for me to know about first guy’s position, and the time spent in army had turned me into a sharp shooter. I shot him right between his eyes even before he could complete his sentence.
Now, only two guys were left and I had just one bullet at my disposal. I knew I had to kill the other guy hiding in the bush, so that I could catch hold of the third one before he dragged himself towards the weapon.
I inserted the last bullet in my rifle and readied myself for the next move. I knew I had only one chance or else his bullets would hit me. We both knew each other's position and were waiting for someone to make a mistake. He knew if I had waited for some more time then the third guy would have reached to the weapon lying 10-15 feet away from him. While I knew i just had one bullet left.
Within few seconds I turned around and almost pressed my trigger, what I saw was something I wasn't able to believe. Corba had somehow freed himself, and was holding the second guy by the neck. The guy was almost choked and it seemed that he would pass away at any second.
"Leave him", I rushed towards the spot realizing the guy held by Corba could cause no harm as he had already dropped his gun.
Corba looked towards me, maybe trying to understand what I was saying. I made few gestures suggesting him to leave the guy or he might end up killing him. Corba threw him towards me, and I held the guy by the collar.
"Sahib, please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. I'll tell you everything you want to know." The guy said while pleading for his life.
"Tell me what?" I asked.
"About who is behind all this, I'll tell you the name of the person who's letting us into the forest." the guy said.
"Are you sure?" I questioned.
"Yes Saaa..." I heard a loud noise and the next thing I realized was that I was holding the lifeless body of the guy.
The third guy, whom I ignored all this while had reached to the gun and instead of aiming towards me by mistake he shot the other guy, I immediately turned around and shot the third guy before he could fire another bullet to end my life.
All three of them were dead, before one of them could tell me about the corrupt officer amongst the Forest Rangers.
I looked towards Corba; he too was looking towards me. I felt a sense of happiness in his eyes, even though he couldn’t speak like humans but his body language showed that he was happy. In addition, he did something that proved it.
Corba came running towards me, and hugged me. He also started licking my hair. I too hugged him tight.
"Ram Avtar, where are you Ram Avtar?" I could hear someone shouting my name.
I heard a few footsteps and knew someone was coming. That meant I had to hide Corba or else everyone would come to know about him, something that I never wanted.
I made a few gestures and Corba ran away just in time before Rangers arrived.
"Are you fine? And what is this, what happened here." One of the forest rangers asked.
"Same story, few poachers, luckily I found them. And I attacked them." I replied.
I searched their pockets along with the other rangers; we didn't find any evidence just some money and bullets. We picked up the three bodies and started walking towards the jeeps. While walking back I felt something moving behind one of the bushes. I looked back and there he was 2 large eyes of Corba were looking at me. I waved back at him and made sure no one noticed the wave.
I knew I had made a friend in jungle. And he turned out to be someone whom I could always count on.
That's how I and Corba became friends. Moreover, there were many other incidents too when he saved my life, or vice versa.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bhanu, my son, always remember that in the jungle you need a friend, and I have ensured that you find a friend in Corba for yourself.
Son, Take care. My blessings are always with you.
Your Grandfather